"Raintree County" is my number one most wanted film on Blu...it didn't even receive a Region 1 DVD release, although it was released in fullscreen by WB in Spain. I asked the Warner Archive about "Raintree County" just yesterday and received this response: "WHV considering for the future, but certainly not any time soon. This will be a very costly undertaking."

That's the answer I've received for the past 8 years from them in online chats and via their FB page since the launch of the Warner Archive Collection. I came across this interesting post this evening on Film Score Monthly's message board. I guess the reason the film is so problematic is because the full Roadshow Version doesn't exist anymore in 65mm. The 14 minutes or so that were cut out only exist in 35mm, which is why those scenes are so jarring and appear faded when we watch the Roadshow version on TCM. Here's a link to that thread (it's the fifth post down): http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/boar...8870&archive=0

It all seems sort of bleak for "Raintree", but I'm keeping my finger's crossed. It probably won't do much good, but I started a Facebook fan page as sort of a petition. If nothing else it will be a great place for me to share some of the hundreds of rare photos my friend has allowed me to share from her collection. Here's the link if any of you want to like the page: http://facebook.com/RaintreeOnBlu

It is a shame! I'd be interested in knowing how many copies it would have to sell for it to be worth the investment... I was discussing the film on another site, and someone brought up a good point that I hadn't thought of that a restoration would also mean you'd have a great print for domestic and international TV sales, online streaming, etc.

Well, I asked someone how much they thought it would cost to restore "Raintree County" for Blu-ray, and they *guessed* that to do it correctly (like Lawrence of Arabia, Ben-Hur or How the West Was Won) it wouldn't be much below a million dollars. That kind of money would require more than a limited run or Warner Archive release for them to recoup their investment. Of course, there are cheaper ways to restore the film, which is the route they might go if they decide against a full blown restoration, and then I think we'd see it in the Warner Archive.

I think the fact that they haven't even put out a DVD version doesn't bode wel for a BD release. It's hard to really gather any real data on how much demand there is for the title when they don't have much (if anything) in the form of home video sales history.

I personally never even heard of the movie until seeing it mentioned here, which is surprising considering the cast. I don't get why the movie has been ignored so much on home video as it was nominated for several oscars in 1958

They can't go by DVD sales, no, but it was released on VHS four times (the last time in 1999) and Laserdisc once. (A fullscreen edition was released by WB in Spain a few years back.) A Region 1 DVD was in the planning stages...they were looking for better elements. George Feltenstein (sp?) even mentioned it in an interview about 6 years ago with The Digital Bits that they were hoping to get it out for the 50th anniversary. I agree, it seems bleak, but at least WB isn't flat out saying no. That's the glimmer or hope I'm hanging on to at this point! lol

"RAINTREE COUNTY requires a very complicated and expensive restoration to give it a proper presentation. Warner Home Video is aware of the interest and it is under active consideration. The film was shot in 65mm, and the negative and safety separations were both cut to a shorter length for general release. 35mm prints (now faded) exist with the cut footage, but putting them together for a proper Blu-ray level presentation is an expensive proposition. Hopefully this will come to pass in the future."

Thanks for linking to my Raintree Facebook page, filmmusic! I really appreciate you helping to spread the word.

I'm thankful Mr Feltenstein was gracious enough to respond to my question. Although it's essentially the same response I've received for years, I'm glad that it's still on their radar, and we might see it somewhere down the line.

RAINTREE COUNTY has been shortlisted as one of five titles that fans most want to see released on Blu-ray and DVD in 2014 at the Home Theater Forum. The studios pay close attention to the HTF. "Raintree" is currently in 4th place--let's get it to #1!